


Chaos

by Location_Unknown



Category: RWBY
Genre: Angst, F/M, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, I have no regrets but this could be deleted if I become too ashamed of my own nonsense, this fic exists in a time that doesn't exist in the show I think
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-25
Updated: 2021-02-25
Packaged: 2021-03-15 21:20:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,654
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29690100
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Location_Unknown/pseuds/Location_Unknown
Summary: As Nora recovers, she starts using a wheelchair to get around. But when she goes to ask for upgrades from Dr. Polendina, all hell breaks loose as grim pour into the city and criminals advantage of the fear. The rest of her team rushes to find her amidst the chaos.My excuse for a "rescue Nora" fic. I love her.
Relationships: Lie Ren/Nora Valkyrie
Comments: 1
Kudos: 18





	Chaos

**Author's Note:**

> I’m gonna do this as a warm-up for work today. I’m a writer, I can do that, I guess. Also there’s like.... 4 Renora fics on this site that I really truly vibe with so *insert Thanos “I’ll do it myself” meme* (((((That’s NOT an insult. All fics are great :) I’m just picky. )))))
> 
> Post Reunion! Because that’s not what I’m writing. Rip.

A gleeful war cry echoed through the hall as Oscar flattened himself against the wall to avoid the oncoming traffic. He thought giving Nora the wheelchair would at least cheer her up a little, but he hadn’t expected her to go from 0 to 70 like this. 

While Oscar was flattened against the wall, Jaune leaned against the doorframe like he didn’t have a care in the world. He watched on and had to stifle his laughs at Oscar’s terror. 

Beyond frazzled, Oscar turned to Jaune, “What if she flies through a window?”

“It wouldn’t be the first time.” Jaune nodded, unfazed. He held back another laugh as Nora turned around so fast that one wheel lifted off the ground. 

While Atlas was still in the thick of it, Teams RWBY and JNR needed to take time to recover before throwing themselves back into the fray, and they knew it. It wasn’t exactly a spa day, but they had decided to hunker down in the lesser demolished areas of the manner. It was a time to recenter, plan, prepare, or repair anything that needed the attention. Especially now that they weren’t going to be hunted down by the best of the best of the military. 

“How did she even get up here?” Oscar questioned. They were, in fact, on the second floor. And everyone denied help Nora get to the longer hallways where she could amp up the speed. 

“I stopped asking myself that question when we were nine.” Ren deadpanned, tinkering with his weapons in the room behind Jaune. But he had a near unnoticeable trace of a smile on his face. It had been a terrifying shock when Yang, Jaune, Oscar, and Ren had reunited with their teammates to find them battered and worse for wear. But for Ren, it was a new degree of heartbreak. He only left Nora’s side when he knew that she wanted to be alone, which was almost never. He’d helped her lift herself back up after she was barely mobile. But with the support of her team, and a lot of elbow grease from Dr. Polendina, her spirits were almost back up to where they usually sat. 

Unfortunately, she wasn’t at the stage where she could fight. Even though her wheelchair skills were getting good, she struggled to walk more than 20 or 30 feet at a time. And any time she swung magnhild, she'd end up launching herself and the wheelchair about 15 feet backwards into the wall, or whatever poor soul hadn’t been ready to catch her. 

Oscar slipped into the room as Nora zoomed by. He looked to Ren and Jaune. “You guys have known each other that long?”

Jaune shook his head. But Ren nodded. “Longer, in fact.”

“But we’ve only known each other for about two years.”

That hit Oscar like a sucker punch. “Only two years??”

Jaune nodded, “Most of us have only known each other for about two years. Ruby and Yang are sisters, so obviously Ruby’s known Yang her entire laugh. Ren and Nora met when they were pretty little, and stayed together. But beyond them, we all were sort of mushed together by happenstance.”

“Yang met Jaune when he threw up on her shoe.”

“You threw up on the airship?”

“She called him Vomit Boy.”

Jaune hid his face in his hands. “Are you kidding me?? We’re still talking about that??”

CRASH. “Ow!!”

The nostalgia was interrupted by a smash, followed by a shout of pain. Ren managed to beat both the other boys out of the room. 

At the end of the hall was Nora, a stupid grin on her face, pulling herself out from the overturned wheelchair. “

“I’m okay! I’m okay!” She was laughing, which sent waves of relief to her team members. Ren grabbed under her arms and nudged her over to the wall, where she sat and pulled the now upright wheelchair. 

“What were you thinking?” Jaune rubbed his temples, trying to hide another smile.

“I was thinking I could do a whole turn on one wheel. Guess not!” She shrugged, pulling Ren’s arm as she hoisted herself back into a standing position. “I think I’m gonna ask Dr. Polendina about that.”

“About throwin’ wheelies?”

“No! Although I should! I wanted to ask him about maneuvering in smaller spaces with less nice floors. If I’m still not, you know, up and at ‘em when we leave, I don’t want to have to be the monkey everyone carries on their back when I get tired.”

“That’s not what you are.” Ren took a knee and put his hands on Nora’s. 

“I know.” Nora looked back at Ren with a steady confidence. Oscar considered looking away from the tender moment. 

Ren nodded and smiled, moving back to stand next to Jaune. Nora moved forward. “I guess now is as good of a time as ever. Maria can fly me down.”

Jaune watched as Nora nonchalantly rolled past him. “Maria can fly to where?”

“To Dr. Polendina’s. I’m sure she will, I’m pretty sure she’s got a huge thing for him.”

“Are you sure that’s a good idea?” Jaune prodded, walking in pace with Nora and she went down the hall. 

“To have the Doc look at the wheelchair? He made it, and upgraded our gear, it shouldn’t be a problem for him.”

Ren spoke up. “He means is it a good idea for you to go alone?”

Nora sighed, her posture dipping. “I know what he meant.” She stopped moving and turned to face them, keeping both wheels on the ground, this time. “But I’ve been relying on everyone for everything since this,” she motioned to herself, “happened. I’ve finally gotten some independence back, and I want to use it. I want to do this by myself.” She raised her right hand, as if making an oath, “I promise that I will at least ask for help regarding someone piloting the airship to get me to Mantle.”

“Oh, thank goodness.” An exaggerated eye roll from Oscar, a sarcastic voice from a real smile, “you had me worried.”

Nora smiled and turned to begin her mission. “Maria’s been hunkered down in the library, right?”

“I think so. But, uh, Nora?”

She stopped, swiveling around for a moment. “Yeah?”

“How are you gonna get down there?”

“The elevator.” She called over her shoulder.

Jaune turned to Ren, eyes wide. “There’s an elevator??”

-

It had been a while since Nora had left with Maria. Neither had returned, but that wasn’t unexpected. Nora was probably tinkering with her hammer while Dr. Polendina planned or built whatever he thought was necessary. 

At the manor, everyone had gone back to what they’d been doing, if they’d been interrupted by the departure at all. 

Until every scroll in the house went off at the same time. And every person knew what that meant. It was a call for help.  
A herd of grimm had battered through one of the gates to Mantle. Citizens were in danger, and in the chaos, criminal gangs had taken the opportunity to start to loot business and rob houses while people were too preoccupied to defend themselves. 

Jaune’s scroll started chirping just as he made it to the main foyer. He answered the call to find a very frantic Pietro Polendina. 

“Dr. Polendina, we’re on our way!! Is Nora with you!?”

“Back off!!” A familiar voice shouted, followed back a familiar thud. “I’ve got this Doc!” Well, that answered that question. Nora was still at the workshop. Although, the accompanying battle sounds raised another question.

Ren stepped forward, his head appearing over Jaune’s shoulder. “Is Nora fighting???”

“She’s helping me here. Maria is keeping most of the grimm back outside, but for some reason, my shop is being targeted by vandals. I don’t know if this was planned, or if someone’s seized the opportunity.” Dr. Polendina’s attention slipped to another monitor as he continued to furiously type. “Not that it matters.”

“How fast do you need us there!?” Jaune held his scroll close as everyone ran outside to find an airship to take down to help. 

“ ... But if they think we’re just going to let them take what they want, they’re sorely mistaken.” Even if the situation they were in, a proud smirk fell on Dr. Polendina’s face, “And they’re fools if they don’t think I have some tricks up my-”

Something exploded in the background, cutting off the feed. 

“Dr. Polendina!! Pietro!?” Jaune shook his scroll, shouting at the screen. Nothing. He put his scroll away as they reached an airship. It took every ounce of willpower for Ren not to launch himself down to mantle the second that the airship had cleared Atlas. 

The instant the ship touched down, the teams split. RWBY went to clear the streets with Maria, and Oscar went with Jaune and Ren to try to scatter any criminals taking advantage of the fear. The eventual goal was to make it several blocks. It took longer than they would’ve liked. Small gangs were set up behind almost every corner, and would attack as soon as they confirmed that the approaching bodies weren’t grimm. They weren’t more than skirmishes, but each fight was time and energy lost. And Ren was getting restless. 

After the fifth skirmish, they finally rounded the corner in front of Dr. Polendina’s workshop.

And they arrived to him being thrown through a window. Jaune and Ren were barely able to cushion his fall. 

Oscar helped Dr. Polendina sit up against a nearby wall, “Are you okay???”

“I’ll be fine. Go help your friend, she may still be fighting!”

Ren didn’t have to be told twice. He was halfway into the workshop before Jaune could even turn around. 

Dr. Polendina shook his head, “I don’t understand, they’re only after scrap metal. They just want to sell whatever they can find, they don't know what I have.”

Oscar watched for any new attackers and Ren and Jaune ran inside the workshop. “Desperate times, Sir. I’m sorry. We’re going to stop them.”

-

Swords clashed as soon as Jaune crossed the threshold. Why they had let Ren pass, he didn’t know. Maybe they were trying to separate them. And it had worked. 

“Ren, go!! Find her!” Jaune pushed back against a new attacker, some gang member with a crooked sword and terrifying strength. 

Ren disappeared through a door as the vandal swung again; Jaune countering with his shield. “Where’s our teammate?”

“Scar girl?? You’re telling me she’s a huntress?” Another swing from the sword that looked like it was pulled out of a shredder. Another block. “No wonder she put up such a fight.”  
“What did you do to her??” Clang. 

“We did what we needed to get the job done.” Smash. 

Ren hated leaving Jaune to fight on his own. He hated everything about this situation. He hated the fear that was palpable in the air. Fear that he contributed to when he saw Nora’s wheelchair smashed into several pieces in one corner of the room...

And Nora with a knife at her throat on the other. 

The workshop had clearly been ransacked. Technology was missing, the only tools that were left were broken, and half-finished machine parts were strewn across the floor. Whatever the group had come for, they had taken it along with whatever they could carry, and gotten the hell out of dodge. 

Except the ragged woman holding Nora. She must’ve been the one to keep her off the playing field while everyone else booked it with the stolen equipment. But now, a new player had entered the field. 

“Ren?” Nora’s voice was barely more than an exhausted, terrified whimper. He could see her shaking, struggling to hold herself up as the other woman pressed a knife against her neck, her other arm draped under Nora’s armpit. 

“Let her GO!!” Ren’s voice erupted with rage before he could even think of anything else to say. 

The woman scoffed, “So you can arrest me after I let my friends get away? Do I look like the self-sacrificial type?” Her emphasis on self-sacrificial was highlighted as she pressed the knife closer into Nora’s neck, eliciting a short cry for help. 

“She’s gonna fall any second. The only thing keeping her up is my left arm,” She pulled on Nora’s shoulder, “and a little extra motivation.” She waved the knife. 

“Nora, it’s going to be okay.” Ren’s weapons were trained on the vandal, but his eyes would flicker between her and Nora, who looked more and more terrified with each passing second. 

Her eyes filled with tears, but were interrupted by a pained cry as the woman yanked her upwards. 

“Adorable. Then this will be easy.” The woman looked down at Nora. “I’m going to slit your throat--”

Ren surged forward. The woman held Nora like a shield, another shout of fear echoed through the room. “Ah-ah-ah. And then, your lover boy will be too busy dealing with keeping you alive than he will be with chasing me.” She pulled Nora up again, and Ren’s chest tightened more than he thought he could. He fought tears. “How’s that sound?’ She whispered to Nora. 

“Just go,” Nora whimpers. 

“Hmm...” the woman tilted her head. “Okay.”

Quick as a whip, the woman threw something onto the ground that instantly began spewing smoke. Ren couldn’t see past his own nose, but he heard a scream and a thud, and suddenly seeing didn’t matter.

“Nora!!’ His voice cracked as he surged forward, desperate for any sign of her. 

“Ren??” She gasped, hands tight on her neck. 

He heard her voice, and kicked the smoke bomb with more power than he thought he had as it sailed through an open door that he hadn’t even heard open. The smoke started to clear as he knelt down in front of Nora, gasping as she grabbed her neck. He took his hands and pushed on hers, then pulled, trying to get her to show him what had happened. Despite his terror, he needed to know how bad the wound was. 

Just for a second, he was able to pull her hands away from her neck. But he was more shocked by what he didn’t see underneath them. 

There wasn’t any blood.

“Nora! Nora, you’re okay. There’s no blood!” Ren held up one hand, trying to show her that there wasn’t anything on his hand. There wasn’t any blood. Her breath started to steady. 

“Guys!!? Ren?? Nora!!” Jaune, out of breath and a little more worse for wear, came charging through the door. “I heard some kind of explosion!” He processed the sight in front of him, of Nora and Ren on the floor. “Are you two alright??”  
Ren nodded. He looked to Nora. She nodded, albeit less certain. Both Ren and Jaune’s postures relaxed slightly, relieved that they’d made it through whatever chaos has just ended. 

“Maria and Oscar are outside with Dr. Polendina.” Jaune explained. “I’ll give you two a minute, meet us outside when you’re ready.” Jaune’s gentle smile has become a staple for the team when they needed to recover, and as always, it was present when he looked to Nora. “I’m so glad you’re alright.”

Nora nodded again, and Ren could see her lip quiver as she tried not to cry. Once Jaune had left the room, she collapsed into Ren’s chest and sobbed. Ren held her close, letting her cry until she could catch her breath. 

He rubbed small circles on her shoulders, “I’m here.”

“Is Dr. Polendina okay?” 

“He’s fine, just a few bumps and bruises.”

“That’s good.” 

He could feel her start to relax. “You did good.”

Nora nuzzles further into Ren’s side. She shook her head. “I barely survived.” 

“You did.”

“Barely.” She whispered. 

“The barely doesn’t matter.” 

He felt her nod into his side. “I love you.” She muttered.

He held on a little tighter. ‘I love you, too.”

**Author's Note:**

> This may be the record amount of times I’ve ever had people do like, those tiny hidden smiles in one fic. They do it so many times. But what can I say, I’ve got a soft spot for ‘em. 
> 
> I wrote this fic nonsequentially, which is the first time I’ve ever done something like that. If I had a scene in my head, I wrote that bit of dialogue and then went back and connected it. It was actually really fun, and is probably how I was able to write this in a handful of hours. 
> 
> As always, stay hydrated and give your friends some love. They deserve it, after all. 
> 
> Peace out from Central,  
> Luna.


End file.
